Fence panel construction

ABSTRACT

A free-standing metal fence construction for use in forming enclosures such as corrals, pens, and stalls for horses and other animals consisting of modular panels provided with pin-engaging fastening means which permit the pivotal interconnection of a plurality of such panels at a common location. Each panel employs two laterally spaced upright members joined by a plurality of horizontal rails positioned between the end members with any desired vertical separation, one of the upright members consisting of a ground supported tubular post and the other consisting of a vertical rod terminating at a predetermined distance above the ground at which point it is connected to the post by one of the rails. Two vertically aligned pin-engaging fasteners attached to the post, and spaced apart above each other, consist of corrugated metal straps partially encircling the post to form a number of vertically directed apertures, the groove of each corrugation in contact with the post being secured by means of a vertical weld. A pair of correspondingly spaced fastening pins, smaller in size than the apertures, are attached to the vertical rod and extend downward from their points of attachment. In use, the pair of pins associated with one such panel may be passed through any two upper and lower aligned apertures respectively of the pair of fasteners of any other such panel to pivotally interconnect the two panels at any desired angle. The remaining pairs of matching upper and lower apertures of the fasteners are adapted to accomodate simultaneously a like number of additional pairs of such pins so that one can interconnect at a common point as many panels as there are apertures in each fastener, in addition to the panel to which the pair of fasteners themselves are attached.

United States Patent I191 Turner [54] FENCE PANELICONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Joe D. Turner, Box 157 S. Star Rte.,

Corrales, N. Mex. 87048 [22] Filed: Aug. 4, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 278,062

Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert M. Betz [57] ABSTRACT A free-standing metal fence construction for use in forming enclosures such' as corrals, pens, and stalls for horses and other animals consisting of modular panels provided with pin-engaging fastening means which permit the pivotal interconnection of a plurality of June 11, 1974 such panels at a common location. Each panel employs two laterally spaced upright members joined by a plurality of horizontal rails positioned between the end members with any desired vertical separation, one of the upright members consisting of a ground supported tubular post and the other consisting of a vertical rod tenninating at a predetermined distance above the ground at which point it is connected to the post by one of the rails. Two vertically aligned pinengaging fasteners attached to the post, and spaced apart above each other, consist of corrugated metal straps partially encircling the post to form a number of vertically directed apertures, the groove of each corrugation in contact with the post being secured by means of a vertical weld. A pair of correspondingly spaced fastening pins, smaller in size than the apertures, are attached to the vertical rod and extend downward from their points of attachment. In use, the pair of pins associated with one such panel may be passed through any two upper and lower aligned apertures respectively of the pair of fasteners of any other such panel to pivotally interconnect the two panels at anydesired angle. The remaining pairs of matching upper and lower apertures of the fasteners are adapted to accomodate simultaneously a like number of additional pairs of such pins so that one can interconnect at a common point as many panels as there are apertures in each fastener, in addition to the panel to which the pair of fasteners themselves are attached.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUM 1 1974 3815877 sum 1 or 2 FENCE PANEL CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present'invention relates to enclosures for animals such as horses, cattle and'the like, and more particularly to enclosures composed of interconnectable panels or sections.

2. Description of the Prior Art The closest prior artof which the applicant is aware is found in various commercial fence sections which employ panel fasteners consisting of a pair of pins which fit within a corresponding pair of individual sections of pipe welded to vertical posts. This type of fastener is subject to a number of disadvantages which adversely affect the ease of assembly and disassembly of the panels and their versatility in use. In order to insure that the pins will engage properly within the pipe sections, the latter must be welded to the post in perfect alignment unless they are of so large a diameter as to be impractical. However, positioning two smooth, round surfaces together for welding is inherently difficult. Furthermore, the strength of the connection between two panels so joined is limited by the security of two welds holding the pipe section to the post. Anyone familiar with the power of horses and livestock is aware that they can impart severe stresses to any such connections. To improve the strength of these welded fasteners the tendency is to increase the length of the pipe sections. Not only does this correspondingly increase the difficulty of pin alignment in insertion and removal, but it tends to decrease the ease with which one panel may be pivoted'or rotated with respect to another. But

SUMMARY O THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention a modular metal fence panel is provided which consists of two laterally spaced upright members which are joined by horizontal rails, the first of the upright members being groundsupported and the second terminating at a predetermined distance above the ground at which point it is connected to the first upright member by one of the horizontal rails. Each panel is provided with means for simultaneous interconnection with a plurality of other similar panels at a common point consisting of a pair of vertically spaced pin-engaging fasteners attached to the first upright member and a pair of downwardly directed right member being secured by means of a vertical weld extending the width of the strap. The fastening pins are laterally spaced from their respective points of attachment and positioned in vertical alignment with each other and are selected in predetermined relation to the size of the apertures. The pair of pins of the second upright member of any panel are thus adapted to be slidable engaged by any two vertically aligned apertures respectively of the pair of fasteners of the first upright member of any other panel for pivotal interconnection of the two panels. In like manner, additional pairs of pins associated with still further panels may be at the same time engaged with the remaining vertically aligned apertures of the fasteners to thereby interconnect all such panels.

The fastener to be described enables the simultaneous interconnection of four oreven more fence panels at the same point. It may be readily attached to every fence panel constructed in accordance with this invention so that the addition of intersecting fence structures to an existing fence composed of such panels requires no modification of either..'The fastener is simple to position accurately for welding to a tubular post whether square or round and it is attached with multiple welds contributing to the strength of the connection between every twopanels. The particular shape of the fastener produces smooth-walled apertures with maximum clearance for slidable pin movement and angular rotation, with minimum lateral projection of the fastener from the supporting upright, and it has no sharp edges or re-entrant surfaces which can bruise or catch a part of an animal s body. Because the apertures of the fastener are designed to be relatively short in vertical extent with respect to their cross-sectional dimensions, the fastener does not require as much accuracy in alignment as would a longer pipe section. This relationship also makes it easy to engage and disengage with matching fastening pins.

The overall fence panel construction of this invention cooperates with the fastener'to further enhance the ease of assembly and disassembly and the reliability of the connection.

It is easy to adjust the relative angular position of successive panels to insure that the structure has adequate resistance to side loads even though free-standing.

fastening pins correspondingly spaced and attached to the second member. Each of the fasteners consistsof a metal strap, at leastpartially encircling the first upright member and provided with a plurality of transverse corrugations extending the widthof the strap and adapted to form with the surface of the first member an equal number of smooth walled, vertically directed apertures, substantially semi-circular in cross-section and in vertical alignment with the corresponding apertures of the other of the pair of fasteners, the groove 'of each corrugation in contact with the surface of the first up- And, importantly, the particular panel construction to be described is comparatively light in weight and eminently suited to quick disassembly and transport.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS cling one of the upright members and showing a fastening pin in engagement together with the pin connection to another of the upright members.

FIG. 4 is a view in elevationof a modified panel in which both upright membersare provided with fastening pins and Showing their respective engagement with corresponding pin-engaging fasteners of two of the panels of FIG. 1 in phantom) FIG. 5 is a view in elevation of a walk-in gate provided on one side with fastening pins engaged with corresponding fasteners on an adjacent fixed upright support to form a hinge and on the other side with a gate latch carrying fastening pins for engagement with fasteners attached to another fixed upright support adjacent to the other side of the gate. a

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail in elevation of the gate latch of FIG. 5, having one of the fastening pins attached to the latch in engagement with one of the fasteners on the adjacent fixed upright support and also showing two sections of pipe guiding the travel of the latch and latch pin in a vertical direction.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further modification of the panel of FIG. 1, known as a pony gate, inwhich the upright member to which the fastening pins areattached extends tothe ground and terminates there in an upward loop portion, thus permitting the fasteners on the other side of the panel to cooperatewith the pins of another adjacent panel for hinging action to open or close the gate;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical the base of the ground-supported upright member of a panel of FIG. I and illustrating a section of pipe in threaded relation to the base of the upright member for underground installation.

FIG. 9 is a view in partially broken elevation of an awning support showing the position of an awning rod at the top, intermediate bracing and stiffening elements, and two pins at the bottom in engagement with two apertures of a pin-engaging fastener.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As seen in FIG. 1 a metal fence panel 10 constructed in accordance with this invention includes a first upright member 12 laterally spaced from a second upright ing one end 24 welded to the top of the end member 12 by a mitered joint (as shown) or if preferable a butt-' joint. The upright member 14 extends downward from the other end 26 of the top rail 16 and terminates at its bottom end 28 ata predetermined distance above the ground, where it is connected to the upright member 12 by the bottom rail 20. The vertical spacing and number of the interior rails 18-18 maybe varied to suit the particular requirements of the user. In a typical-fence panel 10 the rails 16, 18-18 and 20 may be from 12 to 20 feet long. For added strength it may be desirable to employ an intermediate vertical brace 30 extending between the top rail 16 and the bottom rail 20. In a preferred embodiment the upright member 14, the interior rails 18-18, the bottom rail 20 and the'brace 30 may all be made of steel rod welded together at their-mutual intersections and their respective connections with the upright member 12 and the top rail 16.

sectional view showing A' pair of multi-apertured pin-engaging fasteners 40-40 are attached securely to the end member 12in two convenient upper and lower positions respectively. The bottom-most fastener 40 may desirable be positioned slightly above the intersection between the 'end member 12 and the bottom raill 20. The top most fastener 40 should be widely separated therefrom for stability. Attached to the upright member 14 are a cooperating pair of vertically aligned upper and lower fastening pins 44-44 which are adapted tobe engaged by fasteners 40-40, when the respective upright member 14 of two or more panels 10-10 are brought into adjacent relation to'the upright member 12 of any other panel 10, thereby interconnecting the panels 10-10 with which these fasteners 40-40 and pins 4444 are shown in greater detail. With particular reference to FIG. 2, each of fasteners 40-40 consists of a metal strap provided with a plurality of transverse corrugaa tions 4646 which extend thefull width of the fasteners 40-40 from top to bottom. The fasteners 40-40 encircle at least a portion, of the upright member 12 along a generally horizontal path. The grooves 48-48 of each of the corrugations 4646 and the two ends 50-50 of the fasteners 40-40 contact the surface of the upright member 12 along respective vertical paths and are there secured by means of fillet welds 52-52. In this manner a number of apertures 54-54 equal to the number of corrugations 4646 are formed, having a generally semi-circular shape. It will be understood that the apertures 54-54 for the upper fastener 40 are disposed in substantial vertical alignment with the cor responding apertures 54-54 of the lower of fasteners 40, so that any pair of pins 4444 may be engaged by any two apertures 54-54 so vertically aligned.

The angular relationship between adjacent apertures 54-54 depends uponthe size of the corrugations 46-46 in relation to the diameter of the member 12 and the separation between them. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, thereiare a total of three corrugations 46-46 and a like number of apertures 54-54 which are positioned substantially at right angles to each other. This will permit the' interconnection of four panels 10,-l0. at one point and is' thereforesufficientto meet most practical needs in corral and other enclosure construction. However, it is' apparent that-by reducing the size of the corrugations 4646 and thus the separation of the grooves 48-48 in a lateral direction that a greater number of panels 10-10 may thus be interconnected.

It is important to note that each of corrugations 46-46 is supported by two welds 52-52. Therefore,

sinceeach of the fasteners is a continuous length of metal each weld 52-52 contributes to the strength of its connection with any of pins 4444. For example, in the configuration of FIG. 2 there are a total of four welds 52-52 for each fastener 40-40 which would have to be broken to separate any two interconnected rected force.

In FIG. 3 either pair of pins 44-44 of one panel is shown in slidably engaged position with-an aperture 54 of either of the pairs of fasteners 40-40 of another panel 10. The pin 44 may be welded to a rectangular spacer 56 which is in turn welded to the surface of the upright member 14 along a vertical line 58. The bottom end of the pin 44 extends a convenient distance below the bottom edge of the fastener-40, typically about an inch; The bottom edge of the spacer 56 may bear against the top edge of the fastener 40 or it may have a slight clearance therefrom in the pin-engaged position. This will depend upon the precise vertical spacing of a pair of pins 44-44 and any unevenness in the ground, causing two adjacent panels 10-10 to lean toward or away from each other, and is not critical. If desired the spacer 56 may be provided with an aperture 60 through which a safing wire 62 may be passed or wrapped aroundthe fastener 40 to secure the pin 44 in engaged position.

It may be observed with reference to FIG. 2 that the pins 44-44 may conveniently be selected in relationto the size of the semicircular apertures 54-54 so that such pins are free to pivot therein. It will not be found difficult to provide sufficient clearance between the various elements of two panels 10-10 involved to permit rotation of either panel 10 through an arc of 90 degrees to 120 degrees while connected to another such right member 12 tending to hold pins 44-44 in the en- In FIG. 4 a modified fence panel 100 is illustrated, to be used for auxiliary purposes. It is provided with two laterally spaced upright members 14 separated as described above by the top rail 16, interior rails 1'8-18 and the bottom rail 20. The heavier ground-supported upright member 12 has been eliminated. Each of the upright members 14-14 is provided with a pair of the pins 44-44 adapted to cooperatively engage corresponding pairs of fasteners 40-40 on either of two panels 10-10 adjacent to the two ends of the panel 100. r

The purpose of the panel 100 is to facilitate the interconnection between two of the upright members 12 of an enclosure already in place. If, for'example, it becomes desirable to divide a larger corral into two or more smaller ones, the ends of the dividing fence where it meets the existing fence must' be both pin-ended.

' Therefore, at some intermediate point along the dividing fence it will be necessary to interconnect two .upright members 12-12 oftwo panels 10- 10 by a single panel 100 to complete the dividing fence. If the dis- I tance to'be covered by the dividing fence is unequal to panel 10, as indicated by the dashed lines 64-66. It will also be understood that the fastener 40 of FIG. 2 will simultaneously accomodate the pins 44-44 of two additional panels 10-10 (not shown) in the two remaining unoccupied apertures 54-54 so that a total of four panels 10-10 may be interconnected at a common point at right angles or'with other angular relationship as desired.

In order to interconnect two panels 10-10, it is only necessary to raise the upright member 14 of one such panel 10 slightly to position its pins 44-44 vertically above any two verticallyaligned apertures 54-54 of fasteners 40-40 attached to the upright member 12 of v any other panel 10, and lower the pins 44-44 into engaged position. The distance between the surface of the upright member 12 and ridge portion 68 of each of the corrugations 46-46 is made approximately equal to the width of the fastener 40 so that pin engagement and disengagement is easily effected by a slight rocking motion of the panel 10.' The stability of this free-standing panel construction against side loads will be enhanced by slight pivotal adjustment of the angle between adjacent panels 10-10.

Since the upright member 14 is elevated at a predetermined distance above the ground it does not require the size and weight of the ground-supported upright member 12. All it must do is to support the pins 44-44 and one end of the rails 18-18 and 20. This, coupled with the fact that there is no large diameter rail near or in contact with the ground, renders the panel 10 lighter in weight and thus more maneuverable and easier to align for pin engagement in uneven terrain. The unbalanced construction of the panel 10 also contributes to the reliability of the panel'interconnection by exerting a degree of leverage about the ground-supported upthe combined lengthof the panels 10-10 and the panel 100 a slight pivotal adjustment of the interconnection between these panels will take care of the problem.

At any point in an existing fence enclosure, one may introduce a walk-in gate as shown in FIG. 5. In this construction, a gate 200 consists of a pair of upright members 202 and 204 joined at top and bottom by a pair of similar horizontal supports 206-206 and a plurality of similar spaced apart intermediate rails 208-208. The upright member 202 is provided with a pair of the pins 44-44 which cooperativelyengage a pair of fasteners 40-40 on the fixed verticalsupport 210 to form a pair of hinges. The upright member 204 is adaptedto support a gate latch 212 which is provided with a pair of long fastening pins 213-213 adapted to cooperatively engage the pair of fasteners 40-40 on the fixed vertical support 214. The respective bottom ends of the fixed'supports 210 and214 arre joined by a lateral underground support 216.

In use the gate 200 and associated fixed elements may be installed at any point in an existing enclosure in accordance with this invention. This may bedone by removing any panel 10 and installing one panel 100 adjacent to the gate 200 in the resultant gap toaccomplish the necessary pin and fastener relations. After the proper location for the gate 200 is determined a shallow earth-filled trench may be prepared to accomodate the fixed supports 210 and 214 and the lateral support the pin 213 is guided by pipe section 220 and slidable engages an aperture 54 of the fastener 40, the latch 212 slides through the pipe section 222, to keep it aligned until a spacer 226 securing the pin 213 to the latch 212 seats against the joint between the top of the pipe sections 220 and 222. To prevent complete removal of the latch 212 after disengagement of the pins 213-213 a stop 228 is positioned on the latch 212which will contact the lower edge of the pipe section 222 after the pin 2l3has completely cleared the top of the fastener In order to permit horses and livestock to be brought into an enclosure constructed in accordance with this invention a further modified fence structure known as a pony gate is illustrated in FIG. 7. The gate'300 continues to employ previously described elements including the upright member 12, the top rail 16, the intermediate rails18-l8 and the bottom rail 20. Also the fasteners 40-40 and the pins 44-44 are as set forth above. The modification resides in inclusion of a special upright member 302 which extends to the ground and terminates in an upwardextending loopv portion 304 paralleling the. main body of member 302 transversely to theplane of thegate 300. A spacer 306 is welded in position between the main body of member 302 andthe loop portion304 andd joined smoothly to these elements. I v

The gate 300 may be inserted at any position in an enclosure in substitution for any panel 10. Hinging action will be provided at the sideof the gate 300 supported by the upright member l2'when the pins 4444 are disengaged from an'adjacent panel 10 (not shown). The loop portion'304 will serve to support the gate 300 in any desired angular relationship with the adjoining panels 10-10.

If the gate 300 is to be inserted two panels 10-10 so oriented .that their respective upright members 12 are facing the'opening, a further modification (not shown) may be employed wherein a pair of the pins 4444 are substituted for the fasteners 40-40 and an upright member 14 replaces the upright member 12.

The free-standing fence panels 10-10 are adapted to conversion to a permanent installation if that is required. In FIG. 8 a stub section of pipe 400 provided with a threaded end is turned into the flared end 22 of the upright member 12. A short crossbrace 402 is welded across the base of the stub 400 and the combination is lowered into a prepared hole which is filled with concrete or otherwise secured. If it later becomes necessary to remove the fence, the upright member 12 may be rotated with its panel 10 and unscrewed-from the stub 400.

To illustrate the versatility of the fasteners 40-40,

FIG. 9 shows'an awning support 500 mounted thereon. A main vertical support 502 is provided with a longitudinal stiffener 504 welded to each end of the support 502, tand forced outwardly therefrom by a suitable 8 10. With a similar awning support 500 positioned above another of the panels 10 the rod 514 may be supported between them.

The basic panel 10 andd its modifications as described above can be adapted, within the scope of this invention, to many different types of enclosure require- .ments, small and large, and because of the multiple fastening capabilities of the fasteners 40-40, enclosures formed of such panels are ready at all times to be modifiedin formand function with a minimum of effort.

The foregoing. disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials as well'as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is: i

1. In a fence structure consisting of similar interconnectable fence panels each provided with at least two laterally spaced upright members wherein a pair of upright member a plu rality of pairs of apertures in vertical alignment with each other, weld means securing each strap to its upright member at each location of engagement of the strap with the member, the plurality of apertures defined by each strap and the upright memher each being of a size somewhat greater than the fas-- tening pins received therein so that simultaneously inserting the aligned pins of other such panels in the aligned apertures to connect such panels together is facilitated, and one or more of such panels, connected to a common upright, are easily pivoted with respect to the upright as a result of the loose fit between the pins and the apertures.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said apertures formed by the straps and the surface of the upright member are each substantially semi-circular in crosssection.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the size of each of said apertures, as measured between the surface of the upright and a respective ridge of a strap, is substantially equal to the height of a strap.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein, said unitary strap has ends, and said weld means further secures the ends of the strap to said one upright member.

cross-brace 506. The bottom end of the support 502 terminates in a pair of pins 508-510 welded to a half round back plate 512. An awning rod 514 may be secured in a tubular member 516 welded to the top of the support 502. In use, the pins 508 and 510 may be in- 6 5. In a fence construction having a plurality of similar interconnectable panels, each such panel comprising, in combination:

a. a first upright member b. a second upright member laterally spaced from and joined to the first upright member c. a pair of similar spaced-apart, vertically aligned pin-receiving fasteners attached to the first upright member, each comprising a unitary strap substantially encircling the first upright member and prod. a pair of fastening pins, smaller in size than the apertures for slidable engagement with apertures of an adjacent such panel, attached to the second upright member, and extending downward in vertical alignment with each other, said pins being verti- 10 cally spaced apart a distance to be simultaneously inserted into aligned ones of the apertures of'other such panels,

. said pins, of smaller diameter than said apertures.

providing a loose fit with the apertures so that simultaneously inserting the aligned pins of other such panels in the aligned apertures to connect such panels together is facilitated, and one or more of such panels, connected to a common upright, are easily pivoted with respect to the upright as a result of the loose fit between the pins and the apertures. 

1. In a fence structure consisting of similar interconnectable fence panels each provided with at least two laterally spaced upright members wherein a pair of spaced-apart, vertically aligned means each defining plural pinreceiving openings are attached to one upright member and a correspondingly spaced-apart and aligned pair of downwardly extending fastening pins are attached to the other upright member of one such panel the pin receiving openings being arranged to slidably receive the downwardly extending fastening pins of an adjacent such panel, the improvement wherein each of the means defining plural pinreceiving openings comprises a unitary strap substantially encircling the upright member of the one panel and having plural corrugations, each strap engaging the upright member along each corrugation to form with the surface of the uprigHt member a plurality of pairs of apertures in vertical alignment with each other, weld means securing each strap to its upright member at each location of engagement of the strap with the member, the plurality of apertures defined by each strap and the upright member each being of a size somewhat greater than the fastening pins received therein so that simultaneously inserting the aligned pins of other such panels in the aligned apertures to connect such panels together is facilitated, and one or more of such panels, connected to a common upright, are easily pivoted with respect to the upright as a result of the loose fit between the pins and the apertures.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said apertures formed by the straps and the surface of the upright member are each substantially semi-circular in cross-section.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the size of each of said apertures, as measured between the surface of the upright and a respective ridge of a strap, is substantially equal to the height of a strap.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein, said unitary strap has ends, and said weld means further secures the ends of the strap to said one upright member.
 5. In a fence construction having a plurality of similar interconnectable panels, each such panel comprising, in combination: a. a first upright member b. a second upright member laterally spaced from and joined to the first upright member c. a pair of similar spaced-apart, vertically aligned pin-receiving fasteners attached to the first upright member, each comprising a unitary strap substantially encircling the first upright member and provided with plural transverse corrugations each adjacent the surface of the first upright member to form with the surface of the first upright member a plurality of pairs of apertures in generally vertical alignment respectively with the corresponding apertures of the other of the pair of pin-receiving fasteners, weldment means securing each strap to said first upright member along each of the plural corrugations, and d. a pair of fastening pins, smaller in size than the apertures for slidable engagement with apertures of an adjacent such panel, attached to the second upright member, and extending downward in vertical alignment with each other, said pins being vertically spaced apart a distance to be simultaneously inserted into aligned ones of the apertures of other such panels, e. said pins, of smaller diameter than said apertures, providing a loose fit with the apertures so that simultaneously inserting the aligned pins of other such panels in the aligned apertures to connect such panels together is facilitated, and one or more of such panels, connected to a common upright, are easily pivoted with respect to the upright as a result of the loose fit between the pins and the apertures. 